


Cover Your Eyes

by lilactreesinwinter



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Angst, Coming Out, M/M, angst with a bit of fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-16
Updated: 2016-12-16
Packaged: 2018-09-09 00:46:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8869246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilactreesinwinter/pseuds/lilactreesinwinter
Summary: Dan is ready to come out but Phil is not.  What if Dan comes out anyway?





	

**Author's Note:**

> [Originally posted on Tumblr](https://phinalphantasy7.tumblr.com/post/149281300634/cover-your-eyes) on 21 August 2016.

A chilly winter rain was falling and darkness had closed in early, making the flat extra-homey and warm. Phil was drinking his coffee with his computer on his lap when Dan sat down on the sofa beside him.

It had been a productive Saturday: they had shot a gaming channel video; Phil had plotted out the next several scenes of his new project; and Dan had sent out one of his “cute boy” tweets—this time something about the attractiveness of the lead singer of the hot new boy band. Phil was looking forward to a cosy night in, and he smiled fondly at Dan.

“Phil, we need to finish our talk.”

Phil’s face fell and his stomach did too. He didn’t want to finish this talk. “Now?”

Dan’s voice was gentle and loving. “Yes, now. You know I’ve been coming out for years. But it’s literally been all talk and no action.” He touched Phil’s cheek. “I promise you I’m never going to make a coming-out video. I’m never going to take on a label. And I’m not going to put a label on you either, or on us. But it’s time for me to **be** out.”

Phil nodded, still looking down in his lap. Dan had said all this before, and Phil understood. He really did. 

“Phil.” Dan’s voice was so soft. Even though the next thing he said fell so harshly on Phil’s ears. “Come out with me.”

This moment had been coming for a long time, ever since they had first met and fallen in love. Phil had nevertheless hoped that somehow they could avoid this moment forever, or that—somehow—he would feel differently when the time came.

“I can’t.” Phil knew he was making a decision, perhaps one of the most important decisions of his life. He could not go along with Dan. But he resolved not stand in his way. He took a deep breath, arranged his face into a smile, and looked the love of his life in the eye. “Tell me: what are you going to do to be out tonight?”

Dan’s face was a picture of relief and excitement, mixed in equal measure with sadness and disappointment. “I love you, Phil! Thank you for loving me so much.” He paused a moment then looked up slyly through his eyelashes. “I thought I’d go to that new gay club in Soho.”

When Dan was dressed to go out, Phil thought he had never looked so beautiful. His short hair was unstraightened and it brushed his forehead in soft waves. He was wearing skinny black jeans of course, along with a black shirt Phil had not seen, shot with just a touch of silver thread. And he had earrings in, black disks circled with silver.

“Come out with me?” Dan asked one more time. Phil shook his head and brought his hand up into a half-hearted wave. “I will see you later, then,” said Dan, and he headed down the stairs.

Phil could no longer concentrate on his work, so he put his computer down. He decided he was hungry. It had stopped raining and turned cold and clear when he went around the corner for take-away. Once back in the flat, Phil found he wasn’t hungry after all and he binned the food in disgust. He sat down to watch some Buffy—dark episodes from a later season—but soon he was up again, searching his bookshelf for his favourite Stephen King novel, only to throw it on the floor after a page. He made a tour of all the plants in the house, grimly making sure that each was sufficiently watered. Back to Buffy, he powered through an entire episode, carefully squinting to avoid seeing the clock out of the corner of his eye. It was forever since Dan had left, but Phil was afraid of how much longer he’d have to wait until Dan returned.

He wouldn’t be able to sleep, but he could go to bed for a change of scene. He brushed his teeth, pulled on his pyjamas, and sat cross-legged on his bed. He picked up his phone and started up one of his playlists to fill the quiet of his room. All the social media sites were always pretty dead on a Saturday night, but maybe he could find something diverting, even if just momentarily. 

Twitter and Tumblr were not dead. They were screaming in fact, posting one image over and over. Phil paused to try to make sense of the repeating stream, and landed on a post captioned, “OMG!1!!! COVER YOUR EYES!!!!”

The photo was a medium shot, slightly blurry, taken at a crowded club. In the centre of the frame was someone who was clearly Dan, leaning over someone who appeared to be the boy band singer Dan had tweeted about earlier. And Dan’s lips were planted firmly against the other man’s mouth. 

Phil flicked off his glasses and clapped his hands over his face. He couldn’t feel, he couldn’t think, he was pretty sure he wasn’t able to breath. He was frozen forever in the darkness behind his hands, the muffled music from his phone wrapping a meaningless wall of sound around him. 

Aeons passed until Phil was aware of a faint stirring in the air. Gentle fingers pried Phil’s hands from his eyes and in the sudden light Dan’s face appeared inches from his own. His hair was ruffled and dried sweat had stuck some tiny curls to his face. Faint stubble shadowed his upper lip and his deep brown eyes looked tired but full. The cold of the late-night streets rolled off his clothes and he smelled faintly of margaritas. 

His face soft and his grip on Phil’s hands tight, Dan leaned forward and kissed Phil’s mouth.


End file.
